Unrelated folder problems with XP and Vista

Philocalist

Hi ... I'm hoping to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and get a solution to a couple of issues from a single posting Laughing

First off, XP. Recently, whenever I open a folder (either directly, or indirectly via a 'Save as' command), the contents of the folder are invariably displayed totally at random, irrespective of whether the 'View' is currently selected as thumbs, list, details etc ... there is no logic at all to the placement of files within the folder, i.e. they are not being sorted in any way at all, (not by size, name etc, or anything else) ... its just a list of files in a random list (when the folder is first opened).
If I then go View / Arrange Icons By, and select an option, the contents are subsequently sorted ... but this is how they should be when the folder is first opened, no? Confused

It used to be that way until a couple of weeks ago, and I've made no global changes (that I'm aware of) to the folders ... so has anyone any idea whats happening, and how to beat it? Rolling Eyes

Second, on Vista (to which I'm fairly new Shocked

). Harking back to XP, I would navigate to my chosen folder, and then save a file (from within the 'Save' dialogue box of pretty much any software). Subsequent saves of other files from within the same application would invariably open at the same folder ... precisely what I wanted! Very Happy

In Vista, however, subsequent saves do not revert to the chosen folder, instead defaulting to another subfolder within the Documents folder on my account.
Anyone know of a way I can control this behaviour please? Confused

Thanks!

Philocalist · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:43 am Post subject:

What? Not a single response in nearly 3 months? Shocked

Have so far been unable to resolve either of these issues, so I'm hoping that giving this posting a 'bump' might initiate something? Rolling Eyes

seaeagle · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:53 am Post subject:

Hi Philocalist -

I just moved the topic from the Mac OS-X forum to the Windows forum, so you should (hopefully) get a faster response.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1546 Location: Central FL, USA

I would think that a more perfect place to post your problem would be "Problem Solvers". Many people never visit this forum/topic.

XP problems of a recent nature can usually (99%of the time) be repaired by a quick System Restore, to a day or date before the problem occurred.

That's why brother Bill put that feature in the "Programs\Accessories\System Tools" folder, in the first place.

I use it at least once a week to repair some little glitch caused by my trying out some new piece of software.

Cheers!
Doc Cool

Werebo · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject:

Allo Phil

Re: the WinXP problem, if you go into Explorer and click on a folder (any one will do) then set it up exactly the way you want it - i.e. sorted by name, date or whatever.

Once you have that folder looking neat and tidy, click on the 'Tools' menu and select 'Folder Options...' then click on the 'View' tab. Near the top is a button marked 'Apply to all folders' - click on that and, in theory, each and every other folder should look like that one Wink

Handy Tips:
1} - You can alter the columns that appear in Explorer's right hand pane by right-clicking on the (usually) grey column title bar. A list of possible columns appears and you can tick/untick the ones you want to appear.
2} - Left-clicking on a column title will sort the files to that column, clicking again will reverse the sort direction. i.e. clicking on the 'Name' column will list the files in alphabetical order A-Z, clicking again will display Z-A. This works on any of the displayed columns.

I can't help with your 'Vista' problem as I've refused to let it over my doorstep Wink

Philocalist · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:46 pm Post subject:

Ahhh!

A couple of good reasons why things may be a little slow! Embarassed

Hi Werebo .. unfortunately, we seem to be talking about apples and pears Very Happy

I'm familiar with what you explain, but the problem I have manifests itself primarily whenever I need to navigate through folders from within (pretty much any) software, typically to either open or save a file.
As each folder / subfolder opens, the contents are completely unsorted, which means that I've then got to sort each folder individually before I can locate and then open a further subfolder.
Go down several layers, particularly if you are doing much of this type of stuff, and it gets very tedious ... and does bugger-all for productivity! ... hence my search for a solution Very Happy

Vista?

VISTA???

How much can I cuss on here without getting a ban? Very Happy